Handheld Nanohole Array Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing Platform

Extraordinary optical transmission through nanohole arrays in metal films shows enhanced performance in surface plasmon resonance sensing, and efforts to develop this technology have been undertaken by many research groups worldwide. The challenge is to integrate a nanohole array sensor into a handheld design that is compact, cost effective, and capable of multiplexing. A number of implementations have been suggested, using components such as lasers and spectrometers, but these designs are often bulky, expensive and unacceptably noisy. We have developed an approach that is simple, inexpensive and reliable: an integrated handheld SPR imaging sensing platform using the nanohole array chip as the sensing element, a two-color LED source for spectral diversity, and a CCD module for multiplexed detection. A PDMS microfluidic chip made by conventional photolithographic techniques is assembled with the nanohole arrays and incorporated into the integrated module in order to transport the testing solutions, which offers the flexibility for future multiplexing. Results of preliminary tests show surface binding detection and have been promising.